Speed reducing mechanism for training cycles



Sept. 29, 1931. s. MORSE 1,825,083

SPEED REDUCING MECHANISM FOR TRAINING CYCLES Filed Dec. 7, 1929 Patented Sept. 29, 19 31 PAzTEnToi-Fic e "smvmnnivronsn or'nnwvonkiiv. Y.

SPEED 'nnnuonvc MEoHnnrsM Foe-Tama ind CYCLES.

Application filed December is restricted, without. changing the essential character of the cycles and without necessitating any alteration in the propelling mechanism. I 1

' It is a further object of this invention to provide a speed reducing mechanism-which will allowa slow; rotation of. the traction Wheel of the cycle and-a resulting slow forward movement. of the. cycle when the. pro

'20 pelling mechanism is operated at a. speed.

which would result in a rapid forward movement of the cycle'if the traction wheel were geared to the propelling mechanism. in the.

.manner now commonly employed. 1 i

It is still a further object ofthis invention to provide a mechanism of the type. de-

scribed which may be readily attached to the ordinary bicycle, motor cycle or the like,

- without necessitating any material changes in-the construction of suchapparatus,

: It is another 0b ect of this invention to provide meansin connection with the speed reducmg mechanlsm for rendering the same inoperative in order that when desired the j 35. traction wheel maybe connected to the propelling mechanism in theusual manner so that the cycle .maybe used with the speed reducing mechanism or with the usual type of drive between the propelling mechanism 40 and the traction wheel by merely making a quick adjustment of some of theparts,

Bicycle racers'frequently have no indoor I or outdoor track accessible for training purposes and it is impracticable or impossible for them to dotheir training on the, highway due to congested traffic conditions and..unfavorable weather. It is, therefore, necessary that they train in restricted areaswhich would ordinarily require them to ride at a 5o slower speed than when they were actually] 7, 1929. -;se1 ia1- 110.412549. 7

racing. advantage by reasonof the fact that unless s they are able todo their training under oper- 7 ating ,COnditionssubstantially the same as those under .whichthey race, that is, unlessthey can propel their machines ata rate of speed corresponding to that which they must attain in racing,.the benefits to be derived fronr their training will necessarily be limited. 1 v

lt is furthermore oftendesirable to hold actualraces in gymnasiums, athletic clubs or other places where only a small area is availablefor such purpose, In addition, it is often desirable'to use bicycles on theater stages. Under anyof these conditions, due

I Obviously this puts them at a disto the restricted area available, it is necessarythat the cycle move forward at a relatively slow speed.' 7 y s I am aware thatit has hitherto beenpro posed tosolvethe difficulty above suggested by mounting the bicycle in a stationary framevso that the ridermay propel the machine. at any. rate of speed he desires. Such I type of training apparatus, however, is dis:

.advantageousin' that the conditions under which he races are not present in that the machine itself does not move, and as a consequence there is no need for steering or balancing the machine. I am also aware that it has hitherto been proposed to pro vide a pair of small wheels in a framework which is attached to the. rear or traction wheel of a bicycle and which are driven by he traction wheel through a suitable speed reducing mechanism.- Such a device also has the disadvantage that the bicycle is no longer such, but in nature becomes a tricycle, so that the rider, whileactually moving. forward, does not have to balance the machine and he must negotiate turns in a manner different from that whichwould be followed if the machine were actually a bicycle.

It istherefore my purpose to provide a trainingcycle which may be used in a small space due to the slow speed at which it moves and which will, moreover, accomplish this end Without afiecting the essential character of. the cycle and without changing the conditions which would be met if the cycle were operated at ordinary speeds.

Briefly stated, my invention consists in a speed reducing mechanism which is interposed between the propelling mechanism and the traction wheel of the cycle.

IVhile' I have describedmy invention in connection with'a bicycle, it is to be understood that it may be used in connection with a motor cycle or any similar machine. In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a practical embodiment of my invention, but it is to be understood that the drawings are merely illustrative and are in no way to be considered as limiting the invention to the details of construction therein set forth. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms other than that shown, without departing from the scope of the invention asset forth in the accompanying claims.

In the drawings r Y r Fig. 1 shows my speed reducing mechanismadapted to a bicycle having the common foot-propelling mechanism. The figure V showsa planevertical view of my speed reducing mechanism in connection with the rear or traction wheel of the bicycle, the propelling means and that portion of the bicycle frame with which these mechanisms are associated. r

Fig. 2 is a plane end view of nism shown in Fig. 1. V

Fig. 3 is a detailed sectional view showing the construction of the hub of the traction wheel, the mounting of the gears which form a portion of my speed reducing mechanism and the means for directly connecting the traction wheel to the sprocket which is the mechadriven directly by the foot-operated propelling means.

Fig. 4 is a detailed view of a portion of 1 my speed reducing mechanism, together with a portion of the frame in which it-is slidably mounted.

Referring now to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 indicates a traction wheel of a bicycle which is rotatably mounted on an axle 11 mounted in the bicycle frame 12. Reference numeral 13 indicates the ordinary foot-propelled sprocket which constitutes the propelling means for the bicycle. The

propelling means drives a sprocket 14 rotatably mounted on the axle 11 through a chain drive 15. The essential parts of my speed reducing mechanism comprise a large gear 7 16 which is rotatable with the sprocket 14,

- wheel.

intermediate gears 17 and 18 rotatably mounted on an axle 19, said axle being adjustably mounted to slidein slots 20 in the frame members 21, and a ring gear 22 associated with the periphery of the traction It will be evident thatwhen my speedreducing mechanism is being em ployed, the propelling sprocket 13 will drive the gear 16, which in turn drives the traction wheel through the intermediate gears 17 and 18. It will be evident that I may design my speed reducing means to drive the traction wheel at any desired rate of speed for a propelling sprocket of any given size, by changing the relative size of the gears 16, 17 and 18.

Referring to Fig. 3, the reference numeral 23 denotes the hub of a traction wheel 10, rotatably mounted on the axle 11. Rotatably mounted on the same axle 11, but having separate hubs 24 and 25 respectively, are the speed reducing gear 16 and the sprocket 14; In order that the traction wheel may be driven directly by the propelling means through thesprocket 14, Ihaveprovided an annulargroove 26 in the hub 24 of the gear 16 which rotates with the hub 25 of the sprocket 14 in which groove rides an annular flange 27 which forms a projection upon and at right angles to the flange 28 of the traction wheel hub 23;" To gear the sprocket 14 to the traction wheel, it is only necessary to drop the pins..29 into suitable recesses provided in the hub 24 and in. the flange 27. It will, of course, be understood that when the traction wheel is being driven directly through the gear 14, the speed reducing mechanism which operates through the ring gear 22 on the periphery of the wheel must be rendered inoperative. This isv accomplished by mounting the axle of the intermediate gears 17 and 18 to slide in the slots 20 in the frame members 21, thus enabling the axle to be slid upwardly in the frame members to disengage the gears 17 and .18 from the gears 16 and 22 respectively. In order that the axle 19 may be secured in any desired position with respect tothe slots 20 in the frame members, any suitable locking means may be used, such as thumb screws.

When it is desired to use my speed reducing mechanism in connection with a bicycle, the pins 29 will be removed so that the traction wheel will be rotatable independent of the sprocket 14 and the gear 16, and the gears 17 and 18 will be engaged with the gears 16 and 22 respectively. With this arrangement, it will be evident that the traction wheel 10 will rotate at a. speed very much less than the speed of rotation of the sprocket 13, due to the relatively large diameters of the gears 16 and 22 with respect to the diameter of the sprocket 13. When it is desired to operate the bicycle without the speed reducing mechanism, the gears 17 and 18 will be disengaged from the gears 16 and 22 by sliding the axle 19 upwardly in the and a wheel mounted therein, speed reducing means gearing said wheel to said sprocket, and means for rendering said speed reducing means inoperative.

2. In a training cycle, a driving sprocket and a wheel mounted therein, speed reducing means mounted independently of the mountings of the wheel gearing said wheel to said sprocket, and means for rendering said speed reducing means inoperative.

3. In a training cycle, a driving sprocket and a Wheel mounted therein, said Wheel and said sprocket being rotatably mounted on a common axle, speed reducing means gearing said sprocket to said wheel, and means for rendering said speed reducing means inoperative.

4. In a training cycle, a driving sprocket and a wheel mounted therein, speed reducing means gearing said sprocket to the periphery of said wheel, and means: for rendering said speed reducing means inoperative.

5. In a training cycle, a driving sprocket and a wheel mounted therein, speed reducing means mounted independently of the mountings of the wheel gearing said sprocket to the periphery of said wheel, and means for rendering said speed reducing means inoperative. V

6. In a training cycle, a driving sprocket and a wheel mounted therein, speed reducing means for gearing the wheel to the sprocket, and means for efiecting a direct drive between the Wheel and the sprocket.

7. In a training cycle, a driving sprocket and a wheel mounted therein, speed reducing means mounted independently of the mountings of the wheel for gearing the Wheel to the sprocket, and means for effecting a direct gearing between the sprocket and the wheel.

8. In a training cycle, a driving sprocket and a wheel mounted therein, said wheel and said sprocket being rotatably mounted on a common axle, speed reducingmeans for gearing said wheel to said sprocket, and means for effecting a direct drive between the wheel and the sprocket.

9. In a training cycle, a driving sprocket and a wheel mounted therein, speed reducing means for gearing said sprocket tofthe I periphery of said wheel, and means for effecting a direct drive between the sprocket and the wheel.

10. In a training cycle, a driving sprocket and a wheel mounted therein, speed reducing means mounted independently of the] mountings of the wheel for gearing the sprocket to the periphery of the wheel,

sprocket, means for rendering said "speed reducmg means 1noperat1ve, and means for effecting a direct drive between the sprocketmeans for effecting a direct drive between the sprocket and the wheel.

14. In a training cycle, a driving sprocket and a wheel mounted therein, a gear having a diameter of a magnitude approximating that of the wheel rotatable withv said sprocket, and means for effecting a driving connection between said gear and the periphery of the wheel. a

" In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

SAMUEL MORSE.

and means for effecting a direct drive between the sprocket and the wheel.

11. In atraining cycle, a driving sprocket and a wheel mounted therein, speed reducing means for gearing the wheel to the 

